Posts
[in the background Mary Faudree Bean, John Bean Sr. - boys to the foreground- left: Edsel Beane, on right Walter Beane]
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tombstone Tuesday
Is it possible I have depleted my many pics of tombstones?
So, now I am on the hunt for those pics that someone else has taken!
Here's one I simply love...
So, now I am on the hunt for those pics that someone else has taken!
Here's one I simply love...
This is the tombstone for celebrity talk host Merv Griffin.
MERV GRIFFIN
I WILL NOT BE RIGHT BACK
AFTER THE MESSAGE
JULY 6, 1925 - AUGUST 12, 2007
Merv Griffin is buried at Pierce Brothers, Westwood Village in Los Angeles, California.
Monday, September 6, 2010
In Honor of Our Ancestors on Labor Day
What did your ancestors do for a living?
Well, to the best of my knowledge, I can safely go back for five generations, and more, and tell you what my ancestors did.
Let's begin on my mother's side of the family. First, my mother:
Well, to the best of my knowledge, I can safely go back for five generations, and more, and tell you what my ancestors did.
Let's begin on my mother's side of the family. First, my mother:
Mom started out right after high school by enlisting in the Women's Army Corps.
She met and married my Dad in 1958. For several years, until my baby sister went to school, she was a housewife. Although she did sell Avon, and did a good job of it! [Back then it was literally door to doo, and we often accompanied her as she went from house to house. She was assigned a territory to sell within, and she did well!]
Later she went to work for the Fleet Post Office. First in packing. She packed whatever parts needed to be shipped overseas for the Navy. from small office supplies, to large mechanical gears and the like [this was during the Vietnam War]. But she worked there for a short time before passing the Civil Service test that allowed her to take on a secreterial position in the FPO itself. Then in 1973 we moved from that area to the country. And Mom went back to being a housewife for a few years.
During this time, she went back to school and earned a degree through Liberty Bible Institute in Lynchburg, VA.
She went to work for the County Council on Aging as secretary and bookkeeper to the director.
By 1991 she was named the new Director. She remained in this position until 1995 when illness forced her early retirement.
Her father was
Henry Condar Dreher, Jr.
[While there are many who state the middle name was "Conrad", Grandpa himself addressed this with me in 1974, and he insisted that I never forget... "Conrad is a Communist name! My middle name is Condar!" It was something I will never forget!]
Henry was a carpenter by trade and by hobby. His work, magnificently, remains yet for his family to cherish and treasure! In his later years he took over farm management with great aplomb.
First and foremost, Henry was a scholar. He instilled in me that I was never to stop learning. One should learn something new everyday!!! One of my greatest treasures is an old library dictionary that he owned, ancient and huge! He read from it daily, and learned a new word every day of his life! He insisted on being able to quote an entire definition when learning the new word!
He also was a student, and avid student, of the Scriptures. I have the last Bible he owned and studied from. Its pages are worn. He would sit for hours and pour over the Scriptures. I have never known someone so well versed in the Bible. [At one point in his life, he studied to be a minister, but allowed someone else to change his mind. I don't think he ever got over that decision.]
His father, Henry Condar Dreher, Sr.
...was a machinist and a carpenter as well. He worked in a cigar factory keeping the machines going for many years, in Louisville, KY.
Henry's wife's father, John Benzel
...was a stone mason in Indiana.
Henry's father was an immigrant to this country, a carpenter and farmer, he served during the Civil War for the Northern Army and fought at the Battle of Droop Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia [remember this for in a moment I'll explain why].
Mother's mother
... Irene Banet Dreher, raised her family during the Great Depression and she did whatever was necessary to make enough money to keep her family sound. She took in washing. Papered the homes of the wealthy. At one point she cut the tops out of pine trees to be used for Christmas trees. She would saw the tops off, then hold onto these tops and "ride them down" to the ground! And crocheted and quilted, as well as sewed for her family. She continued to ply her needle, right up until her death in 1989.
Irene's father...
..Francis Isidore Banet was the son of a French immigrant. He was a farmer foremost, and a carpenter second.
My Dad...
... was a career Navy sailor, through and through. He served 22 years in the Navy, retiring in 1975 only because of back problems.
He went on to work for B.F. Goodrich until 1993, when he was forced to retire early due to disability.
His father...
John Monroe Bean, Sr. was an elderly 71 when my Dad came along! [And there are two more younger than my Dad!]
John was a farmer and a merchant. And while he never made his fortune [he was a dreamer that always believed the grass was greener elsewhere,] his family was well cared for, and every one made something special of their lives!
John's father was ...
... William M. Bean, Jr. He began his adult life working as a farmer. Then the war [Civil War] broke out. William played a dual role in the War. First appearing to take part in the Confederacy, and even fighting in the Battle of Droop Mountain in Pocahontas County, WV [ahhhhh... here's the good part! My great-grandfather Bean and my great-great-grandfather Dreher fought against one another at this famous battle!].
Eventually, William was captured in Maryland and sent to the infamous Elmira Prison in NY. He was there only a short time when he was pulled out by Union Army officials, and sent to Johnston's Island. It appears that dear old great-grandfather was a spy for the Union Army. It was soon reported that a Confederate attempt was going to be made to rescue Confederate officers from Johnston's Island, and it is believed that great-grandfather is the one who reported this. The rescue attempt was thwarted, and those who lead the attempt were executed.
Great-Grandfather became a U.S. Marshall following the War. In 1891 he was shot in the head and died. He was only 58.
William's father...
...William Sr., was a gentleman farmer. He owned vast amounts of land and property, and yes, slaves, in Monroe County, WV. During the Civil War he led a posse of the home guard against a group of theives who were "holed up" in a cabin in Wiseman's Hollow. He was shot from the loft of the cabin when attempting to enter and arrest the group. He was shot in the head. He was 71 years of age. [Father and son died with a bullet to the head while acting in a legal capacity.]
William's wife, Rachel, was a Wiseman by birth. Her father...
... Joseph Wiseman, was a farmer and served during the American Revolution. As was his father...
...Isaac, who also served in the American Revolution...
...in the PA Militia.
My Dad's mother's family were Faudree's.
Great-grandfather, Stephen Ledford Faudree, was a farmer. As was his father...
Richard C. Faudree before him.
Richard's father, Lewis Faudree, was a gentleman farmer from Halifax County, VA who owned a large estate.
And while not my ancestor, but destined to one day be the ancestor of our children's off-spring, and their offspring, and so on, my husband, the Texican,
... served seven years in the U.S. Army as a helicopter mechanic. Later he worked on oil wells. He became a welder by trade. And spent a year in Wyoming working as a hand on a dude ranch! He became the shop foreman for a small mechanical manufacturing operations in Salem, VA for several years. And was a shop foreman for a glass installations shop in Texas for a year. But for the past five years, he went in a totally different direction and has been a truck driver. [I spent the first year on the road with him! It was a blast!!!]
Our ancestors were not wealthy, or famous [they may have been infamous! LOL], but one thing that all have in common, and which the Texican and I have made our life's motto, we do what we have to do to see our family taken care.
If we can teach our children nothing more than the supreme importance of taking care of family, we will have done our job for this life-time.
It's a lesson we learned from those ancestors who came before us.
Monday's Mentions...
Is anyone else watching the reruns of Who Do You Think You Are?
I was simply amazed that the reruns would hold me interested as much as watching the original airings! It was like I was still mesmerized!
On this past Friday, there was a re-airing of the episode of Brooke Shields.
It was a poignant episode. One in which you see the real feelings this woman gained for her grandmother, whom she had always resented for having treated her mother a bit harshly. She learns of the hardships, and the heartaches, that her grandmother went through as a young girl. And it truly touched Brooke's heart when she learned of these things.
I know that my own emotions mirror those that she reflected in the episode when I learn of some tragedy in my own family.
There was a particularly sad case when I found out that a cousin's wife was lost during a tornado back in the 1910's. The woman was missing for 4 days. When they found her, she was at the bottom of a well. She was 9-months pregnant. I know the sad emotions that come over you, as you grieve for that lost life! Even though, when I learned of it, the event had happened more than 90 years before!!!
I look forward to the new season of WDYTYA. If you haven't seen the show, you can always go here to watch any episodes you may have missed, or to watch all of them again!!!
Happy hunting on the genealogy trail this week!
I was simply amazed that the reruns would hold me interested as much as watching the original airings! It was like I was still mesmerized!
On this past Friday, there was a re-airing of the episode of Brooke Shields.
I know that my own emotions mirror those that she reflected in the episode when I learn of some tragedy in my own family.
There was a particularly sad case when I found out that a cousin's wife was lost during a tornado back in the 1910's. The woman was missing for 4 days. When they found her, she was at the bottom of a well. She was 9-months pregnant. I know the sad emotions that come over you, as you grieve for that lost life! Even though, when I learned of it, the event had happened more than 90 years before!!!
I look forward to the new season of WDYTYA. If you haven't seen the show, you can always go here to watch any episodes you may have missed, or to watch all of them again!!!
Happy hunting on the genealogy trail this week!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Sentimental Sunday
I have searched through my digital files for a photograph of this old homeplace that shows the southeast corner of the yard from a few years back. This shows most of the yard, but not the entire yard. Hidden by the tree you see on the right, was an ancient Rose of Sharon bush that sat in the corner of the yard.
It is said that many years ago on a particularly cold winter, there were two Bean slaves who died. The ground was frozen so solid in the family cemetery [just across the road and on an knoll] that shovel could not break the ground. The only ground that could be found to be able to dig a grave was in the southeast corner of the front yard.
One one night, one slave died. And within the week, a second followed.
A Rose of Sharon was planted over the grave to keep it sacred and unmarked by any other desecration.
The gloriously large bush [well over 12-feet tall!] was still there in 2001. However, I noticed for the first time in 2007 that the bush was gone. No trace of it remained.
A sad end to an even sadder tale.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Genealogy TV Show
Randy Seaver from over at GeneaMusings brings us this intriguing challenge this evening:
"Hey genealogy buffs sitting there in your pajamas (or whatever) on a Saturday Night - it's time for more Genealogy Fun!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and I REALLY hope that you will, because I know how creative my genea-readers are) , is to:
1) Create a Title and outline an episode of your own Genealogy television show. Be funny, crazy or serious, it doesn't matter!
2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Twitter or Facebook.
This idea was prompted by a long thread on Facebook on Paula Stuart-Warren's page - her comment was:
"A new reality show -- the Housewives of Genealogy. Imagine the possibilities. Sitting at a computer, standing at a copier, scanning a document, attending a conference, data entry, and the big draw would be trying to top each other with stories of the horse thieves, murderers, farmers, shopkeepers, and soldiers in our past." And it took off from there... into cabana boys and all sorts of funny ideas.
Thomas MacEntee listed some candidate television show titles back in February with this post, spurred by Donna Pointkouski's post here, if you want some ideas to embellish upon."
**************
With that challenge before, I let my mind play a bit and I came up with the following:
My idea for a genealogy based television show would be:
“To Tell The Truth In Your Genealogy”.
A panel of judges [remember Kitty Carlisle? Tom Poston? Orson Bean? And Bud Collyer? – uh… yep , I think I just let you know how old I am!] sits before three podiums.
Contestants then have read by the host [who has to be Thomas MacEntee! Who else could host this show!] a series of clues about their ancestor.
Panelists would be Megan Smolenyak, The Footnote Maven, and let’s throw in Dr. Bill for good measure!
“The ancestor was said to have gold hidden in the well." Thomas clues the panelists.
“Was he an outlaw?” Megan asks contestant number one.
“Yes,” comes the reply.
“Was your ancestor associated with any banks?” asks the Footnote Maven of contestant number two.
“Yes,” comes the reply.
“Was your ancestor Jesse James?” Dr. Bill asks of contestant number three.
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
“Dr. Bill, what made you guess Jesse James?” asks Thomas MacEntee.
“Well… contestant number three has a strong resemblance to the James family, which I’ve researched, and….”
“That’s all the time we have for now, folks!” Thomas breaks in.
“Stay tuned for our next episode of ‘To Tell The Truth In Your Genealogy’, when one of our contestants has a secret ancestor who wore Napolean’s tricorn on his wedding day!”
And the music swells while the image fades.
Hmmm… now I just need to gather up enough contestants with interesting ancestors to play this game, sponsors for prizes for those who pull the wool over on the panelists, and a network that will produce the show!
Hey, Roots Network, are you interested in a show???
"Hey genealogy buffs sitting there in your pajamas (or whatever) on a Saturday Night - it's time for more Genealogy Fun!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and I REALLY hope that you will, because I know how creative my genea-readers are) , is to:
1) Create a Title and outline an episode of your own Genealogy television show. Be funny, crazy or serious, it doesn't matter!
2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Twitter or Facebook.
This idea was prompted by a long thread on Facebook on Paula Stuart-Warren's page - her comment was:
"A new reality show -- the Housewives of Genealogy. Imagine the possibilities. Sitting at a computer, standing at a copier, scanning a document, attending a conference, data entry, and the big draw would be trying to top each other with stories of the horse thieves, murderers, farmers, shopkeepers, and soldiers in our past." And it took off from there... into cabana boys and all sorts of funny ideas.
Thomas MacEntee listed some candidate television show titles back in February with this post, spurred by Donna Pointkouski's post here, if you want some ideas to embellish upon."
**************
With that challenge before, I let my mind play a bit and I came up with the following:
My idea for a genealogy based television show would be:
“To Tell The Truth In Your Genealogy”.
A panel of judges [remember Kitty Carlisle? Tom Poston? Orson Bean? And Bud Collyer? – uh… yep , I think I just let you know how old I am!] sits before three podiums.
Contestants then have read by the host [who has to be Thomas MacEntee! Who else could host this show!] a series of clues about their ancestor.
Panelists would be Megan Smolenyak, The Footnote Maven, and let’s throw in Dr. Bill for good measure!
“The ancestor was said to have gold hidden in the well." Thomas clues the panelists.
“Was he an outlaw?” Megan asks contestant number one.
“Yes,” comes the reply.
“Was your ancestor associated with any banks?” asks the Footnote Maven of contestant number two.
“Yes,” comes the reply.
“Was your ancestor Jesse James?” Dr. Bill asks of contestant number three.
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
“Dr. Bill, what made you guess Jesse James?” asks Thomas MacEntee.
“Well… contestant number three has a strong resemblance to the James family, which I’ve researched, and….”
“That’s all the time we have for now, folks!” Thomas breaks in.
“Stay tuned for our next episode of ‘To Tell The Truth In Your Genealogy’, when one of our contestants has a secret ancestor who wore Napolean’s tricorn on his wedding day!”
And the music swells while the image fades.
Hmmm… now I just need to gather up enough contestants with interesting ancestors to play this game, sponsors for prizes for those who pull the wool over on the panelists, and a network that will produce the show!
Hey, Roots Network, are you interested in a show???
52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #36
Thanks to Thomas MacEntee for the following challenge:
"Time Tomorrow at 8:00am - September 10 at 11:00pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Your genealogy blog
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Created By Genea-Bloggers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Info Week 36: Check out the Family History Library catalog (http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp). In terms of its library collections, there are no rivals. From this web page, you can search by place, surname, keyword, title, film/fiche, author, subject, and call number. Try all of them. Don’t do actual research with this exercise. Instead just click links and see all the catalog has to offer. Many of these... items can be rented for a small fee and viewed at your local Family History Center (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/library/FHC/frameset_FHC.asp). You do not have to be a member of the LDS Church to utilize this service. If you write a genealogy blog, tell readers what you found during this exercise, or describe the types of materials you’ve received through this genealogy tool.
52 Weeks To Better Genealogy is a series of weekly prompts that are a bit more challenging and are geared towards those new to the field of genealogy and family history as well as those who want to brush up on some skills which might be a bit rusty."
As always, this site amazes me!
Simply by typing in my main surname search "Bean", I was met with a plethora of sources to check on research!
Unfortunately for me, the branch of the family Bean that I am working on, was not represented in the many titles of work [356] that came up during the search. But, this I already knew, and so was not disappointed.
I have often utilized this site looking for a source of material to do research with, and so I highly recommend it. While I have not been able to break through my own brick wall, I have through several client's walls, and what a wonderful feeling that is!
Give it a try!
"Time Tomorrow at 8:00am - September 10 at 11:00pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Your genealogy blog
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Created By Genea-Bloggers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Info Week 36: Check out the Family History Library catalog (http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp). In terms of its library collections, there are no rivals. From this web page, you can search by place, surname, keyword, title, film/fiche, author, subject, and call number. Try all of them. Don’t do actual research with this exercise. Instead just click links and see all the catalog has to offer. Many of these... items can be rented for a small fee and viewed at your local Family History Center (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/library/FHC/frameset_FHC.asp). You do not have to be a member of the LDS Church to utilize this service. If you write a genealogy blog, tell readers what you found during this exercise, or describe the types of materials you’ve received through this genealogy tool.
52 Weeks To Better Genealogy is a series of weekly prompts that are a bit more challenging and are geared towards those new to the field of genealogy and family history as well as those who want to brush up on some skills which might be a bit rusty."
As always, this site amazes me!
Simply by typing in my main surname search "Bean", I was met with a plethora of sources to check on research!
Unfortunately for me, the branch of the family Bean that I am working on, was not represented in the many titles of work [356] that came up during the search. But, this I already knew, and so was not disappointed.
I have often utilized this site looking for a source of material to do research with, and so I highly recommend it. While I have not been able to break through my own brick wall, I have through several client's walls, and what a wonderful feeling that is!
Give it a try!
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